Irish actor Jack Reynor wins Sundance prize for ‘Glassland’

Irish actor Jack Reynor has won the prestigious special jury prize for acting at the Sundance Film Festival for his role in Gerard Barrett’s Glassland.

Produced with support from the Irish Film Board, Reynor stars as a young taxi driver on the fringes of the criminal underworld.

In a desperate bid to save his mother from addiction and unite his broken family, he is forced to take a job which will push him further into its underbelly.

Grassland is Barrett’s follow-up to his award-winning debut movie, Pilgrim Hill, and features Toni Collette (The Sixth Sense) and Will Poulter (The Maze Runner).

The film was one of 12 chosen for the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at Sundance.

It received glowing reviews at the festival.

Variety praised the “bold yet understated performances” of both Reynor and Collette, while the Hollywood Reporter described Reynor’s performance as “exceptional”.

The Guardian said the tears in Glassland “catch you unawares”.

“This is not your run-of-the-mill weepy, nor your archly-crafted Oscar bait,” said the review.

Glassland was the joint winner of the Best Film Award at the 2014 Galway Film Fleadh, was produced by Element Pictures (Frank, and What Richard Did) and was filmed on location in Dublin.